#foraging omaha

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Sour Green Crab Apple Sauce with Rose

Notions: One pound green, firm crab apples, 1/2 cup of dried rose petals, 1 cup packed brown sugar, enough water to cover. 

Rinse your crab apples and spread them out over your cutting surface, then cut them away from the stem and core in a square shape so you are only left with 4 pieces of fruit, no seeds. Place these in a large pot and add enough water to cover, but not so much the crab apples float. Bring the apples to a boil and then add your rose petals and brown sugar, reduce to a simmer and stir thoroughly to make sure all ingredients are incorporated. Allow to simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, or until the apples are soft and easily pierced. Your water and brown sugar should have formed a loose sweet/floral simple syrup that can be seen when stirring. Turn off heat and wait for ingredients to reach a manageable temperature before adding the mixture in its entirety to a blender. Pulse until smooth, adding no more than a 1/4 cup of water if necessary to get the blades to spin. Store in the fridge in a glass pint jar. Great with oatmeal or granola, or all on its own for a sweet snack that makes you pucker up. 

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Wild Harvest Tea

Notions: 1 cup Ceylon black tea, small handful dried peaches, small handful dried green crab apples, the petals of 2 dried marigold blossoms. 

First rinse your green crab apples and then cut the fruit away from the core and stem in a square shape so you are left with four pieces. For this recipe you will only need 2 crab apples (personally I like to dry in large quantities and then ration out over the winter), once you have your apple pieces place them in a single layer in your dehydrator trays for 24-36 hours until they are very dry and no moisture remains on your fingertips when you pinch them. Drying fresh peaches is much more intensive so I recommend this tutorial. Marigolds can dry along side either the crab apples or the peaches, they usually are finished after only 12 hours. 

The blending process can begin when all of your components are dried and gathered on a clean, dry work space. When blending tea, using weighted measurements is ideal, but for ease of use I’ve used standard kitchen measurements. First, add 1 cup of Ceylon black tea to a large bowl, then throw in your handful of dried peaches and dried crabapple, exactly how much is up to you, and then top it all off with your dried marigold petals. Thoroughly blend with your hands or a large spoon until all elements are incorporated. Store in a glass container with a very tight screw lid and allow the flavors to meld together for at least 24 hours. This is also a processing failsafe for your dried fruit, if any parts have been incorrectly dried condensation will appear on the inside of your glass and you will need to try again. 

Once 24 hours have passed your Wild Harvest Tea is ready to be used and brewed just like any of your tried and true favorites!

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Sour Green Crab Apple Syrup

Notions: 3 pounds firm, green crab apples, 3 cups sugar, handful of fresh marigold blossoms, enough water to cover. 

Wash your crab apples, chop into quarters, removing stems and leaves, and place in a large pot. Once all your apples are quartered, toss in your desired amount of marigold blossoms, I think they add a nice little bit of sweetness to tame the sourness a bit. Add enough water to cover, but not enough where the crab apples will float. Turn your burner on medium high and let simmer for 15-30 minutes, the crab apples will be soggy and browned when they’re done. Carefully strain your juice into a large bowl and discard your boiled crab apples and marigolds. Rinse your pot, return the juice to it, and put it to a medium heat. Slowly add 3 cups of sugar, stirring to dissolve and slowly increase heat to medium high. Be careful to not allow the syrup to rise above 250 degrees and to stir to keep potential foaming down. When the syrup clings to a spoon it’s ready to be stored, I like glass pint jars. Allow syrup to cool and store in refrigerator. This sour/sweet treat is great to mix into baking dishes, add to cocktails, pour over ice cream, or even over pancakes!

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Dog Days Mulberry Limeade Tea

Notions: amounts are not essential in this recipe: I cut three 18 inch long, thin branches from my mulberry tree, complete with leaves and immature berries (very sour), desired amount of stevia to sweeten, one lime sliced very thin.

After you harvest your mulberries branches rinse them quickly, try not to knock any of the leaves or berries off, rinse your stevia leaves, and slice your lime. Pat everything dry and place in your dehydrator trays, trying to avoid very much over lapping. The mulberry and stevia will be dry and ready to use after 24 hours, the lime may take longer depending on your machine, use the same pinch test we used with mulberries: if you pinch the meat of the fruit and there’s juice on your fingers it needs to keep drying. When my limes were dried I cut them in half just because I think it looks prettier when blended. Remove the leaves and berries from the wood of the mulberry (save this for later use, not in this recipe, though) and place in a large bowl, add the lime and dried stevia and allow to sit, covered, over night, beneath an unbreathable layer, I like tin foil. This will allow the flavors to meld together before brewing. This tea is meant to be an easy, healthy alternative to all the various sugary “aides” popular in the summer, I would recommend it to brew for 3 minutes at 175 degrees, and I think this one is especially good iced. 

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By Any Other Name Rose Tea

Notions: specific amounts are not essential to this recipe, desired amount of rose leaves, desired amount of rose petals.

Carefully remove the desired amount of leaves and blossoms from your rose bush. If you would like your tea to be sweeter and more floral I would suggest a ratio of at least 70% rose petal to 30% rose leaf, if you want it to break even between floral and vegetal flavors use a ratio of 40% petals and 60% leaves, and if you want it to have a more traditional “green” taste then I’d suggest using 80% leaves and 20% petals. Be careful when harvesting, I underestimated my rose bush and got a few scratches for my efforts. Once you have your petals and leaves bring them inside and rinse thoroughly. Pat dry and lay in a single layer in your dehydrator trays and allow to dry over night, when the leaves and petals and brittle to the touch they are completely dry and ready to be brewed. I would suggest using 175 degree water for this tea and letting it infuse for 3-4 minutes. 

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SWEET/TART BATH BOMB

Notions: 15 lemon balm leaves, 15 stevia leaves, 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/4 cup epsom salt, 1/6 cup corn starch, 1/6 cup citric acid, 1/6 cup glitter (color of choice), 1 tblspn grape seed oil, 5 drops essential oil (fragrance of choice, and candy mold (shape of choice)

First gather your lemon balm and stevia and lay in a single layer in your dehydrator tray after thorough rinsing and drying. The leaves will probably need at least 2 hours to dry to the appropriate brittleness, but you can monitor and pull it when you think its ready. Once you remove your leaves from the dehydrator crush them to a fine powder, either with your hands or in a coffee or herb grinder, set aside. Combine all dry ingredients (including herbs) in a large bowl and whisk together, add your fragrance oil and grape seed oil and begin to knead with your hands. Your mixture will still be fairly dry, it will cling together but not very well, if you shape in into a ball it will form, but then fall apart. Use a spray bottle and add water very gradually until your mixture has the consistency of wet sand (wet, not saturated) and press into your candy molds. Gently tap the outside of the mold to remove the bath bomb and place on a plate or other dish and allow to dry for 24 hours in a dry place. I would suggest choosing an essential oil fragrance that will compliment the sweet lemon-y aroma provided by the lemon balm and stevia, but, as always, please use your imagination and explore different options. With this in mind, the glitter is obviously not essential, but I have a preoccupation with glitter so I added it to my batch. 

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Mulberry Rose Tisane

Notions: (Note: Amounts are not essential in this recipe. Gather as much as you want with as much of the supporting flavors as you want, the given amounts are simply what I prefer) 2 cups mulberries, the petals of 1 hibiscus bloom, 20 pineapple sage leaves, and the petals of 4 rose blooms. 

First off, for those who don’t know, a tisane is a “tea” comprised of dried fruit and herbs, but no actual leaves from the for real tea plant. Okay, now that technicalities are out of the way, making this tisane is nothing if not simple. Gather all the ingredients you desire, rinse them, and lay them in single layers in your dehydrator, allow to dry over night. The next day use the “squeeze test” to see if your mulberries are ready (pinch a berry between your fingers, if there’s any liquid on your fingertips the berries need to continue drying) it is essential that your mulberries are completely dry or they may start to mold, which would be devastating. After you are sure all your components are properly dried combine them in a bowl or jar and thoroughly mix them together. Cover with a non breathable layer, I use tinfoil, and allow the flavors to meld for 24 hours. This “tea” needs to brew in very hot water (208 degrees, or boiling is ok for this, too) for a little longer than a normal tea. For others I would say to let it infuse for 6 minutes, but personally, I like a concentrated flavor so I let mine go for 10 minutes. The flavor is light and fruity, with a little bit of the rose and sage brightening the mix. I’ll be honest, the hibiscus is mostly for color and is not at all essential to taste. 

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Clover Infused Lip Balm

Notions: 2 tablespoons coconut oil, 1 tablespoon beeswax, and good fistful of clover blossoms, I used 13. 

Just like the Hyssop Bruise Salve, this lip balm also uses a 2 to 1 coconut oil to beeswax ratio, if you would like to make a larger batch (this one will produce 2 chapstick sized tubes) adjust accordingly. Combine coconut oil and beeswax in a sturdy saucepan and allow to melt on the lowest setting possible. When your mixture is mostly liquid add your clover blossoms  and allow them to infuse until they are mostly blanched of their color if you’re using purple blossoms like I did, or until they are dry if using the smaller white ones. Strain out your blossoms and pour your lip balm into your chosen container. I like plastic tubes, but they can be kind of hard to fill, so a small glass jar with a screw top lid would probably be the easiest and most aesthetically pleasing. Clover has a lot of Vitamin C for its small size so this balm is good for your kisser, like sunshine you put on your lips!